Twenty Going On Ten
by feelthesarcasm
Summary: After returning home with a ten year old Luke who has no memory of his past life as a replica, Asch wants to try and have a better relationship with him this time around. He turns to Jade in hopes of getting his help with the lingering effects of the big bang, caring for Luke and the rest of his former replica's friends reaction to what happened.
1. Chapter 1

_"That's why you must come back alive...or rather, I hope you do."_

Something didn't seem right and Jade knew it. But after all that happened, he couldn't find the strength to voice his concerns. They wanted it to be him; they had put all of their hope into it though he had advised them not to. Hell, he wanted it to be as real as it seemed because Lorelei knows they're all overdue for a happy ending.

It wasn't the scientist in him that had made him suspicious. When it came to this particular person he knew better than to rely on science. This was his gut telling him that he shouldn't get too excited because he'd only wind up disappointed.

And he didn't appear to be the only skeptical person in the room either. He glanced to the side to notice Mieu had yet to leave the perch he had made out of the colonel's arm which was slightly odd considering how attached the little cheagle had become with his master. Perhaps his heightened senses were picking up something?

"I just can't believe that you made it. Today of all days." Tear whispered leaning in to give him a hug.

"Your voice helped me find my way."

Anise bounced up and down. "I just can't believe you came back! I knew you wouldn't let me down, Luke." She squealed as she hugged his legs tightly.

"If you would have come back yesterday you wouldn't have missed your coming of age ceremony." Guy joked.

Luke smiled sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Well you know I've always had a poor sense of direction."

"We can all just thank Lorelei that he had the decency to send Luke new clothes instead of returning him to us naked." Jade piped in.

Natalia shook her head. "Colonel, please! Should we head to Baticul? I'm afraid Aunt Suzanne has been rather weak lately, and I'm concerned that today's events might have been too much for her."

"I think it would be wise to let Luke have a medical examination first just to make sure he's alright."

Tear nodded. "I agree with the Colonel. We don't want to return the Duchess' son to her without first checking his condition. He looks a bit tired."

"So I guess that means we're headed for Belkend?"

Jade smiled, pushing up his glasses. "Actually there's no need. With me resuming my fomicry research, the Emperor has invested in a facility in Grand Chokmah. We'll have an easier time sneaking Luke around."

Anise grinned. "Then let's go! Maybe the emperor will reward us with gald for finding Luke!"

"It's pretty late and Noelle is probably exhausted from having to pick all of us up. We should sleep on the Albiore tonight and head out in the morning." Guy said.

"Wait, can we head to the inn at Chesedonia? Not that I have anything against the Albiore..." Luke mumbled.

Jade raised an eyebrow at that as everyone did but he knew now was not the time question it. "Seeing as you just returned from the dead and it's your birthday, I don't see why we can't do you one favor."

"Heh, how thoughtful you are, Colonel."

"I really don't care where we go, I'm just happy we have Luke back! I can't wait to get back to Daath and tell Florian." Anise smiled as she clung to his leg again.

"Now now, Anise. You don't want to break him before we have a chance to examine him." Jade gripped Tokunaga and tugged the small girl off him.

"Booo, you're no fun."

Guy chucked as they headed back to the Albiore. "Sorry we took so long, Noelle."

"It's no problem, guys. I know it's..." She gasped dropping the water bottle she had in her hands. "L-Luke...you're alive?" She ran over wrapping both arms around him. "Oh my god!"

Luke smiled hugging her back. "It's good to see you again too, Noelle."

Jade let out an exaggerated sigh. "My, my Luke. Even as a reincarnation you're still hogging all the women. A man of my mature age doesn't stand a chance."

"Shut up!"

Noelle blushed quickly pulling away. "It's not like that Colonel!"

"You don't waste any time jumping back into the usual teasing do you?" Guy asked.

"He's already had a break for two years. Was that not long enough?"

Tear and Natalia both sighed as they took their seats. The short ride to Chesedonia was silent with the exception of Mieu pointing out the things he saw out the window. When they arrived at the inn, they broke off into groups. The girls and Mieu sharing a room, Guy and Jade sharing a room while Luke got a room by himself.

"Have you noticed Luke's been acting a little weird?" Guy finally asked when they were alone, removing his gloves.

"It was strange that it seemed as if he already had a room here before we arrived. Perhaps he made a stop here before coming to Tataroo Valley?" Jade offered.

"Not just that, he just seems different. Not that I know what he went through and I suppose it wouldn't be impossible for his personality to have changed." He scratched his head.

"Let's save the little mystery for morning." Jade smiled sliding his glasses off.

"Yeah, you're right. Goodnight, Jade."

* * *

Whether it was from military training, the multiple assassination attempts on Peony back at the palace or the time he spent listening to Luke's nightmares, Jade had grown accustomed to sleeping as light as a feather. From his bed he could see the shadow that passed back and forth in the hall. It paused a few times in front of the door before it began moving again.

He had no reason to believe it was a threat. Things had been annoyingly calm recently. He stayed in his bed for a few more minutes before his curiosity and annoyance at the soft yet noticeable footsteps coaxed him out of bed.

"Is there something the matter Luke? Or is it Asch? Or would you prefer a new combined name?" Jade asked as he stepped out into the hall.

The redhead stopped his pacing and turned to look at him. "Hmph, I suppose...Asch is the most appropriate. Does that fonic sight really help you see through people that easily?"

He pulled the door closed behind him, sliding on his glasses. "It would be quite the useful superpower, but no. Actually, I surprised myself this time as well. It wasn't until I watched you that I realized how well I knew Luke. Do you remember what happened?"

Asch slid his back up against the wall, crossing his arms. "I remember contacting Luke right before...my death. I think he preserved my fonons inside of him, instead of just combining with them. After Eldrant began to fall, the Dreck...caught my body and we lowered down into the planet's core together."

Jade pushed his glasses up on his nose. "So you believe he transferred your fonons back into your body while he was holding you?"

"Seems like something he would do doesn't it? No matter what I did he wouldn't forget about me. Even if those Oracle Knights hadn't skewered me on those swords, I was going to die anyway."

"You were suffering the same condition as Luke."

Asch laughed softly as he shook his head, pushing the red hair out of his face. "He was a real pain. I don't know if I imagined it but I thought I heard him whispering to me as we descended. Maybe he did it through our connection."

_Luke smiled softly and brushed the stray strands away from Asch's face. "You broke your promise. You were supposed to stay alive. At least you can't run away from me this time and I didn't have to grieve you for very long. Wherever I'm going, you're coming with me brother." He closed his eyes, hugging the lifeless body closer to him._

"By what you spoke at Tataroo Valley, it must have been the big bang and you absorbed Luke's memories. Why not correct everyone in their assumption?"

His eyes narrowed. "Everyone was waiting so dutifully for his return and you expect me tell them that I'm more Asch than their precious Luke. As if I mattered to any of you people besides Natalia."

Jade walked over to him. "Do not be mistaken. While Natalia and Luke were the only ones who had a true connection with you, we were all devastated by the news of your death and eternally grateful for your sacrifice."

He blinked before turning away. "W-well...I wasn't trying to sacrifice myself on purpose. There's something else I want to show you." He pushed himself off the wall and headed towards his room with Jade following.

Not being able to let the opportunity for teasing pass him by, he spoke first. "It has to be in private? I hope you're not planning to kill me because you think I know too much. Or is it because you've become an adult recently and you want to experiment? I'm afraid my body doesn't bend the way it used to."

Asch rolled his eyes as he opened the door and walked inside. "You're a twisted old man, four eyes."

Jade chuckled in response as he shut the door but immediately froze in silence when his eyes met with the bed in the room. The blankets had been bundled up around a tiny figure, obviously a child but what caught his attention was the familiar, messy mop of red hair that was poking out. "It can't be..."

Asch walked over to the bed carefully pulling the sheets back to reveal a sleeping child. "The reason why I'm more dominant even in our combined form is because this is Luke. And yes, I'm positive it's him. This is how I-we looked when we were younger."

"This...was unexpected. Do you have any idea how this happened?"

"Don't look at me! Last time I saw that dreck he still looked like himself. Then I wake up in the ruins of Eldrant two days ago and this kid was there. He only had on a cloak, so I brought him here to get him some clothes. I wanted to go back to the ruins to see if anything else was there, so I told him to stay here at the inn and wait for me to come back. Then I remembered my...Luke's promise to Tear and it led me to Tataroo Valley."

"And that's why you insisted we come back here." Jade crossed over to the bed to closely examine the sleeping child. "And you don't remember Lorelei mentioning anything?"

"No I don't. It's hard to remember anything. My memories and Luke's are all jumbled together like a whirlpool and it's getting harder to keep things separate."

"Did you speak to him? Can he speak?"

"Some childhood memories still seem intact. He knows his name is Luke and he can remember some things about living in the manor, so he's not a complete blank slate like he was before. I have all of Luke's recent memories but from what I can tell, I don't have any of his childhood ones."

Jade straightened and turned to Asch. "I see. And is this why you were pacing back and forth in front of my door? You believe I can help you with this?"

Asch glared at him. "It's not like I wanted to, it was just instinct for some reason."

He smiled sliding his hands in his pockets. "I believe that's from the part of Luke you inherited. He believed I was capable of fixing anything."

"Well you always seem to figure things out before everyone else. Do you have a theory for this as well?"

"I don't believe this is any result of fomicry but has more to do with the fact that you were connected to Lorelei. Perhaps Lorelei tried to restore both you and Luke but encountered some difficulties from your concurrent dissipations. He used as many of Luke's fonons as he could to restore your body while preserving his basic form. After all, his body was nothing but a shell he received from you. On the inside he was very different. Though I could always be wrong."

Asch scratched the back of his head. "Sounds somewhat logical at least. Just make sure you give him a medical exam when we reach Grand Chokmah."

"Indeed. I will give you both a very thorough examination for your benefit and the benefit of my own research of course. By the way, how did you explain to him why you both look so much alike?"

He turned away and mumbled. "I told him...I was his brother."

A devious smirk crossed Jade's lips as he took another look at the bed. "Did you now? Just when I believed this situation couldn't get more fascinating. I do hope little Luke here doesn't sleep for too much longer."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Italics are memories and flashbacks**

* * *

_Asch groaned slightly as he pulled himself off the ground. His head felt groggy and scrambled and had it not been for the raindrops hitting his face, he may have been content just lying there. Eventually he did force himself to sit up to take in his surroundings. Getting to his feet was a little more difficult than he had intended._

_He took a few steps back and forth to wake his legs up. "Damn, my legs feel like lead. How long have I been laying out here?"_

_His movements stopped when he heard rustling a few feet ahead of him. On instinct, he gripped the sword that had been on the ground next to him and moved forward._

_"It would be my luck that I have to kill monsters the minute I wake up."_

_There was a flash of brown and that was all Asch needed for his pursuit. "Don't move!"_

_The figure that was walking on all fours stopped almost immediately and turned around to meet the piercing, fierce emerald eyes._

_Asch blinked, still holding his sword out of in front of him. The last thing he expected to find out here was a kid. Not to mention there was something familiar about the wide green eyes that were now staring up at him in fear and curiosity. He reached forward cautiously pulling the hood off the boy's head._

_The boy quickly cowered away from his hand but bright red hair was now visible and it was like a window to his past. Was he dreaming? Was Lorelei making him face his younger self for some unknown reason? He kneeled down into the grass to examine the child further. It looked like him but there was something that was off. While his hair, his face, his eyes all looked like his younger self, the overall aura resonating off him was different._

_"...Luke?"_

_It was small but there was a quick shift in expression; from fear to confusion but acknowledgement as well before switching back to fear. "H-how...do you know my name?" He sniffled softly._

_Even though his name at that age had been Luke, he knew better than to try to use that as the reason for the response. He could never pull off that naive, childlike look he as looking at right now. And there were no other signs of his replica. That was then he remembered that he had died and been absorbed by Luke, but now was alive again._

_"What the hell did that idiot do?" Asch mumbled, looking down at his clothes which seemed to be a mix of his uniform and Luke's hideous outfit. He turned his attention back to the boy, slowly putting his sword down. "I'm not going to hurt you but you can't stay out here by yourself, it's going to get dark soon."_

_Luke looked at him nervously but inched forward. He was still scared but he was getting cold and hungry and this man seemed to know his name somehow and looked a lot like him. "What is your name?"_

_"I'm Asch. Do you remember how you got out here, Luke?"_

_He shook his head. "I don't remember."_

_"Well I don't remember either, but we can't stay out here after dark." He held out his hand._

_Luke stared at the hand but took it. A warm, comforting glow surrounded the two when they touched. The younger redhead stared in awe at the gold barrier as it slowly faded and that was all the confirmation he needed to know that this somehow was the same Luke he left behind on Eldrant._

_Their walk through the desert had been a long and tiring one but after a full day of travel, they finally made it to Chesedonia. Asch was dripping with sweat and, the journey even harder because he had the extra weight of the ten year old he had been carrying. Though to be fair the boy could hardly be considered heavy._

_He sighed in relief as he pushed the door open to their room at the inn and he sat Luke down on the bed. "That was a terrible trip." He grumbled pulling scarf and jacket off._

_"It was really cool watching you fight those monsters!"_

_"Heh, I'm just glad I remembered how to fight in the first place." Asch responded, heading into the bathroom to clean up. H stood in front of the mirror, the first chance he had gotten to look at himself. He looked different; a little like himself and a little like Luke. His hair was just as long as it'd always been but a shade lighter and more unruly. "I guess it was just like Spinoza said, but I died before you. How the hell did you pull this off, replica?"_

_None of it made any sense but he was too tired to think about it. Nothing was ever simple when it came to his life. After taking a quick bath he came back into the bedroom, Luke still sitting on the bed where he left him looking out the window. Yet another piece of the unsolved puzzle. Why was Luke a kid again? Was he still a replica? He could guess the answer to the second question was no. Unlike the last time Luke had been born, he appeared to function on the level of an average ten year old. He remembered their manor in Baticul and their parents. His clumsiness remained but he could walk and run like a normal kid as well as talk. Whatever the hell Lorelei managed to do to them, it was unlikely he'd be able to figure it out all on his own._

_"Hey Asch?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_Luke turned to look at him with a puzzled look on his face. He had obviously spent the last few minutes trying to figure something out. "Why do we look alike?"_

_Asch scratched the back of his head. He was caught completely off guard by that question. It was obvious Luke had no memory of what had really happened to both of them so he went with the simplest answer he could come up with._

_"Well...I'm your older brother."_

* * *

Luke tried to stay as still as possible, still curled up in bed. He had been awake for at least twenty minutes but had no intention of getting up. When he had peeked out of one eye earlier, he expected Asch to be in the room waiting for him but instead he saw a tall, leaner man with glasses wearing all blue. He had no idea how he managed to sneak into their room and he didn't know what he wanted but maybe if he thought he was still sleeping, he'd eventually go away.

Jade sat across the bed from Luke with an amused look on his face. He was glad to see that at least some things didn't change. Luke was still as bad as ever at lying and pretending. It was painfully obvious that the boy was awake but he saw no harm in playing along.

"My my this boy has been sleeping for quite a long time. Perhaps he's actually dead and not sleeping. Hmm, what should I do? I could take him apart and see if there's anything nasty inside of him." He smirked and nearly lost his composure when he heard what he was sure was supposed to be a silent gasp from underneath the blankets.

"Hmmm, now I'm sure I heard something coming from that bad." He got up pulling his spear out from his arm and gently poked the blanket with it. "Do make up your mind. Are you alive or dead?"

There was no response for a few moments before Luke slowly pulled the blanket down from his face. "I'm alive."

"Very nice to hear it." Jade smiled, pushing his glasses up. As if seeing Asch return from the ruins of Eldrant hadn't been enough of a miracle, there were no words for what was happening right now as shining emerald eyes watched him curiously. I see you'll never stop being a wonder, Luke.

"Where's Asch? And why are your eyes red?"

"Asch went to get you something to eat and should be back any minute. As for your second question, why do you believe they're red?"

Luke scrunched his face slightly as he looked over the man. "Hmm you're probably a demon."

Jade chuckled softly. "I have been called such, so perhaps you're right. You're Asch's younger brother, correct? I'm Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Third Division Malkuth Imperial Forces." He extended a hand out to him.

_"Asch where are we? And when are we going back home?"_

_"We can't go back home yet. There's someone I need to visit first. His name is Jade Curtiss."_

_Luke tilted his head a bit. "Jade..is he a friend?"_

_Asch snickered. "Something like that...anyway, I want you to meet him."_

"Jade..." He stared at the extended hand and then smiled. "Hi Jade, I'm Luke Fon Fabre and I'm ten years old! Asch said we were going to meet you."

Still as trusting and friendly as ever, Jade thought. Just like the Luke he knew, only shorter with a higher pitched voice. "It's nice to meet you, Luke."

"Are you Asch's friend?"

"Yes...and yours."

Luke's smile only grew wider at that as he pulled himself from bed, trying to smooth down some of the wild red strands on his head. "Are you going to help us get back home?"

"Perhaps at some point, but first we'll need to make a stop in the capital of Malkuth. Do you know which city that is?" Jade asked. Their little conversation was the perfect way for him to do a general assessment of Luke's abilities. From his language and comprehension skills, it was quite clear he wasn't a replica. He was lively and already had a distinct personality to him. Maybe his assumption about Lorelei resurrecting Luke as a child was right after all.

The familiar puzzled look he received from the ten year old made something stink inside the hardened Colonel. "I thought I'd never get to see that expression again." He whispered to himself while Luke sat silent trying to concentrate.

He absently scratched the back of his head trying to remember all of the locations he had seen in his books back at home. He was sure the capital of Malkuth was probably mentioned in there somewhere. Those books had been really hard to read with their big words, so he mostly skimmed the pictures. "Umm is it Grand Chockmah?"

Jade chuckled softly. "Grand Chokmah, but very good."

Luke grinned sheepishly."Grand Chok-mah. And are we really going there?! I wasn't allowed to leave the manor so I've never seen anywhere else except for in my books. Is it like Cheso-donia? Is it bigger? Is it dry like it is here or is it near the water like back where I live? Is it..."

"Enough." He said sternly, cutting off the endless barrage of questions. "If you expect answers then you shouldn't ramble. Ask a question and then wait for a reply before asking another. All of those will be answered when we head there but now I have a question for you. Do you know how you got out of your manor?"

"No. I only remember waking up in the grass, near Asch. I don't know how I got there. I asked Asch and he didn't answer."

* * *

As if on cue, door to the room swung open and Asch walked in, carrying a tray of food. "Here, Luke. Try not to make such a mess with it this time."

"Can I eat by the window? I want to watch all the people outside. And there's a big castle nearby too!"

Asch sighed but nodded and set Luke's food down by the window. "Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Luke shrugged as he picked up his fork. "Your friend Jade asked me how I got out of the manor and I told him I didn't remember."

He turned his attention to Jade. "I haven't come up with a good story yet." He mumbled in a hushed tone so the younger redhead didn't overhear.

Jade nodded. "I figured as much. He seems too distracted to care at the moment so you've still got some time left. What you don't have time for is to continue this charade as Luke, unless you can think of a way to sneak a redheaded child on the Albiore without drawing the attention of others.

"You think I need to be told that?" He shot back.

"I'm a bit surprised you're so concerned with the feeling of your replicas friends. Are his memories really causing you this much distress."

Asch narrowed his eyes. "Well excuse me for trying to be a decent human being for once. I didn't want to have to deal with all of the dramatics that first night. That's all it was."

"Ah of course." Jade smirked, obviously not buying that explanation for a second. "Though I should warn you, the others will probably have a much harder time handling all of this."

"Well how come you're not bothered by it."

"Probably because I gave up on the chance of Luke returning quite some time ago. The research and evidence backed up the potential that if either of you were to survive; it would be you who would be the one alive. Not expecting to ever see Luke again, even seeing him in this form..." He gestured in the direction of the boy eating by the window. "is far more than I expected and somewhat of a relief. He's different now and he probably won't be the same on that I seem to have grown attached to over our travel, but I'll just have to make room for him. Just as I'll have to make room for you as well."

Asch looked over at him with a face of complete surprise. "What?"

"I never held anything against you Asch. I regarded you with the same amount of suspicion as everyone else. I even arrested Luke and Tear a little while after I first met them and we all were guilty of hiding secrets we didn't want the others finding out about. You're no bigger of a bother to me than all the rest. Had you not been so stubborn and intent on isolating yourself from everyone else, perhaps we wouldn't have to worry about doing it now. You'll get a more emotional reaction from the others but eventually they will heal."

"…..Thanks, Jade."


	3. Chapter 3

Could it really be as simple as Jade made it seem? Would the rest of their group be able to accept the fact that he had been the one that returned? Jade seemed sincere enough to accept Asch as he was but the Malkuth soldier certainly couldn't be considered the standard. He didn't think or act in a way that most would say is normal. Though it wasn't like no trace of Luke was found, he had practically brought back Luke with him but it wasn't the one they remembered.

Why was he even concerning himself with how these people would react to him? Natalia was the only one he should be worried about but something inside of him...the part of Luke inside of him wouldn't allow him to just move on and forget about his strange travel companions. To be fair, Jade was right in that none of the group ever showed any real ill feelings towards him like the other god generals and in return he couldn't say he hated them either. He just preferred to be on his own. You were less likely to be put in a vulnerable position when you were by yourself but not hating someone wasn't the same as friendship.

Friendship was something entirely foreign to him. Van was once his beloved teacher but he had betrayed him. The god generals were united in their mission but not much else. They each had their own pain which made them want to abandon the score but none of them could truly understand him. With the exception of Sync, none of them had ever gone through being replicated. In fact, he had a particular distaste for Dist for his role in the entire thing.

The group of friends; Luke's group of friends allowed Asch, a god general who had tried to kill one of their own, to travel with them after what happened at Akzeriuth and sometimes he had wondered why. Even if they were angry at Luke, he wasn't any more trustworthy. He remembered making the replica watch him with them; flaunting the fact that his friends had welcomed him so easily, all while leaving him behind. He mostly did it to hurt him, to make him feel the same kind of worthlessness he felt at being someone who could be substituted.

_It's a little ironic now that I think about it. As much as I hated him for stealing my life, now the roles have been reversed and I'm left here with his memories, his friends even though I didn't ask to be put in this position. I'm beginning to think that Lorelei did this as some kind of retribution for punishing one of his scion's so much._

Out of everyone though, Luke was the hardest to figure out. Sorting through his replica's memories, he could see him sympathizing with every single god general, himself included, after hearing what their motivations were. In his own way, he privately grieved every single one of their deaths, especially Largo and Arietta. And he couldn't forget all the times Luke tried to reach out to him. Even after belittling him, nearly killing him he had mourned his death and even gave his life up in order to give Asch a second chance.

_You were so weird and attached dreck... but the least I can do is make an effort on your behalf._

Asch was finally brought back to reality when he felt a splash of water hit his cheek. He looked down and met the wide green eyes that stared at him curiously. "What?"

Luke let a small smile cross his face as his fingers made tiny ripples in his bath water. "I was just wondering why you left home."

He tilted the boy's head back and resumed massaging the shampoo into his hair while he formulated an answer. "I was an Oracle Knight for a little while. Close your eyes."

"You were the last person I'd ever expect to have any sort of parenting instinct, I'm a bit surprised." Jade smirked leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom.

He narrowed his eyes at the man's teasing tone. "Well someone has to make sure the little dreck stays clean." He shot back grabbing the bucket and rinsed the short red hair before wrapping him up in a towel.

"Asch? What's a dreck?"

"Don't worry about it, go get dressed."

Jade crossed his arms over his chest, smirk still firmly in place. "I think it's rather nice that you're taking the initiative to be a good big brother. He does seem to be fascinated by you."

Asch stared at him. "What, you're not going to make some comment about how I should have been that way with Luke when he was alive?"

There was no response for a moment as the older man pushed up his glasses with his index finger. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, Asch. Luke IS alive is he not? Though it could be my old age playing tricks on me and I'm imagining the nude ten year old in the other room."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Well, I do hope that you will consider not wasting this second chance at life regretting what you didn't do in the previous one." Jade retorted, only this time more serious. "Not many people get a chance to start over again. And on top of that, you even get the opportunity to do that with Luke. The score is gone, Van is dead and Lorelei is living peacefully in the fon belt. You decide what happens from here."

Something about the way he was speaking let Asch know there was a personal message mixed in there somewhere. He knew about the Colonel's role in fomicry from the few times Dist rambled on about him but he even then the strange god general always seemed vague on the details. Aside from the rumors he didn't know anything about the man. From the memories flashing in front of him, Luke seemed to know a lot more about Jade than he had but a few of the more personal moments between them were blacked out.

"You must be seeing some fascinating things."

Asch blinked trying to clear his vision. "How could you tell?"

"It wasn't difficult, you have the same spaced out expression Luke use to have when he spoke to you through your connection."

He nodded rubbing a hand over his face. "It's still something I'm not use to. If someone or something triggers one of Luke's memories, I can see it. Sometimes I can search his memories for specific things if I need to. Whatever it is he knows about you, he's blocked off access to it."

Jade gave a slight nod. "It's for the best." He really wanted to sigh in relief. Professor Nebilim was still a sore subject and while he had learned to deal with it better, thanks to Luke he still preferred to avoid the topic if possible. _I was right to trust you. And you can trust that I will make sure to help you in the way I had been unable to in your previous life._

Luke walked over to the two, fully dressed and his hair mostly dry huffing. "Can we go to Grand Chokmah now? I'm really bored."

"Hmm, don't look at me. Asch, what is our next move?"

"We go to Grand Chokmah, but I don't think this is the right time to let the others in on this. We can go to the Albiore and ask Noelle to contact Ginji. He can take Luke and me to Grand Chokmah and we'll meet you there."

The Colonel gave a slight shrug. "If that is what you wish, I won't stop you."

* * *

Once Luke's hooded cloak was firmly in place, the trio headed out of the rented room quietly. It was still early in the morning and Asch didn't want to be caught by anyone else in the group. It would probably be best to reveal himself first and try and explain the big bang before they saw this Luke.

"Hey, where are you guys off to this early in the morning? And without me." A voice from behind them called out.

Both Jade and Asch had yet to turn around when Luke let out a gasp, recognizing the voice. He quickly pushed his way through the two older men before either had a chance to catch him and tackled the blonde that had just stepped out into the hall.

"GUY! What are you doing here?"

Guy groaned and pulled himself up into a sitting position, ready to thoroughly scold whoever it had been to plow right into him. From what he could feel, it seemed to be Anise and the idea sent a shiver up his body. The true culprit however, was even more frightening.

"...WHA!" He quickly scurried away from the boy until his back hit the now closed door of his room.

Jade let out a sigh. "Oh dear, this is getting rather complicated. Though this does answer a question that was lurking in the back of my mind."

Luke stared at his friend in confusion. "What's wrong Guy? I'm not a girl!"

The colonel walked forward, placing a comforting arm on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry Luke, you merely startled him." With his other hand he pulled Guy up off the floor. "Now why don't we continue this reunion in private?"

As Guy was pushed back into the empty room of the inn, he ran a shaky hand through his hair. Surely he was having some sort of nightmare and for some reason Jade, Luke and...kid Luke? was a part of it as well. As if reading his mind, Jade walked in front of him once the door was closed and smacked him across the face. "I assure you that you're awake, Guy."

"Don't hit Guy, Jade!"

"I didn't realize you had employed a four foot bodyguard, Guy."

As he watched the cruel man continue to bicker with the little boy, his eyes met with the other redhead, the other Luke who remained by the door. "Luke? What the hell is going on?"

Asch stared at the blonde in silence, trying to shove down the sudden feeling of guilt that seemed to come from nowhere. _Damnit, don't look at me like that._ "It's a long story. Jade, explain."

"Guy, explain."

"I can't explain when I'm trying to figure out what's going on!"

Jade let out an annoyed sigh but let his attention drift away from the ten year old trying to defend his much older friend. "Well this is quite an inconvenience for me. I trust you will stay on top of things next time. I don't think there's much to explain." He put his hands on Luke's shoulders and turned him around to face guy. "This is Master Luke. You work for him don't you?"

Luke made a face at the title. "I'm not Guy's master! He's my friend and he takes care of me."

Guy kneeled down to one knee so he could look the boy in the eyes. He knew it shouldn't have been possible but the green eyes never lied to him. They were the same innocent eyes that stared at him when he first picked him up in the garden after he had been born. The same one that narrowed when he got angry at the very few occasions that Guy had said no to him.

"Luke...I can't believe it." He whispered pulling the boy tightly against his chest. The child at some point he actually considered punishing for his father's sins. The one that grew up and faced death and hurt more times than anyone should ever have to. "I'm so sorry."

"G-Guy, what's wrong?" The redhead frowned patting him gently on the shoulder. He didn't know why his friend was acting so strangely but he was glad to see him there anyway. "Did you come looking for me? Asch found me."

That caused Guy to pull away and focus on the other redhead in the room. He walked over to where Asch was standing and examined him closely. "Asch? How...you were d..."

Asch quickly put his hand over Guy's mouth before he could finish that sentence, looking over his shoulder at Luke smiling at them. "Yes I was but...Lorelei interfered somewhere along the line and helped me out."

"You two know each other?! Guy were you Asch's servant too?"

He nodded, though didn't take his eyes off Asch. "Yes...when he was much younger."

Jade cleared his throat. "Even with this slight alteration, I don't believe anything from our current plans have to change. Asch? Why don't you go to the Albiore so you can see about Noelle contacting Ginji?"

* * *

Asch tore his gaze away from Guy and headed out of the room without another word. He couldn't have gotten out of that room faster. He didn't know how to feel about the noble. They had been friends; at least that was what he had thought. He found out later from Van about Guy's original intentions to kill him to avenge his family.

Images then started to flash in his mind; some of the memories belonging to him and some not but they all had something in common. Because of Guy's status as a servant, he nor Luke could openly play with him; that was frowned upon, so most of their time with the older blonde were in secret. He had opportunity after opportunity to kill either one of them and yet in the four years he was his servant and the seven years he was Luke's, it never happened. That had to mean something right?

He only made it to the entrance of the inn before he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Luke?"

_Dammit..._ He turned around coming face to face with Natalia. Of all the people to see right now.

Natalia smiled. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, it's just...waking up and seeing you here after two years is a little surreal."

"It's good to see you again Natalia. I missed you." He said before he had a chance to stop it. Though Luke was Natalia's friend so it didn't seem that strange for him to say.

She bit her lip trying to blink back tears. "The ceremonies that your parents had for you each year were beautiful but I'm so glad that there won't be a need for them anymore."

So many years had gone by and Asch hadn't been sure what he held for his once fiancée. He knew he still loved her but after so much time apart, he wasn't sure if they could be repaired. His last words had been in Grand Chokmah, telling her to shut up because he was too busy arguing with Luke. He didn't deserve her anymore but he couldn't fight the urge to have her close either. He gripped his hands tightly in hers. "I'm sorry for causing you so much pain."

She blinked in surprise and stared at their joint hands. "You don't have to apologize for anything." She pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Hey! What's going on down here?" Anise demanded as she walked over to the pair.

Asch quickly pulled out of Natalia's embrace. "Nothing, Anise. I was just heading out to see Noelle about something." And before either of them could protest, he was out the door.

Anise eyed Natalia suspiciously. "What was that all about?"

"Why are you looking at me like that!? I didn't do anything to him. I just wanted to say good morning."

"Can I ask you something, Natalia? No one ever brought it up because of you know but did you...love Luke too?"

Natalia looked away. "I...I don't know. I know Asch and Luke were two different people and I wanted them to be but sometimes it was just so hard to keep that straight in my head. These past two years I thought a lot about how much time I wasted with Luke. All the time I wasted wishing he were someone else instead of loving him for who he was and the way he was. He was so miserable when he was locked away at home and instead of trying to make it better, I made it worse. And then when I finally realized he was his own person, it was far too late. Right now, all I want is for him to be happy and safe."

Anise listened carefully as she gripped Tokunaga tighter. "I don't think that makes you a bad person. I always felt like there was more I could have done for Ion. Then when we found Florian, all I saw was Ion and I almost...wanted him to be him. But then Luke disappeared and I felt ashamed of myself. After watching all the fighting Luke did for his own identity, here I was wishing a replica could replace the original that I couldn't get over losing. I'm better now but it's still hard."

"Thank you, Anise."

"You're welcome. And don't worry; I won't mention a thing to Tear."

"What won't you mention?" Tear asked curiously walking over to the other women.

"Oh uh...I wouldn't mention that...Luke beat us all awake this morning! Pretty hard to believe huh?"

She blinked. "Luke was the first one up? And here I thought we'd have an even harder time getting him up than we use to. He seemed a bit dazed last night."

Anise grinned. "Maybe the excitement over seeing you again made it hard to sleep, Tear."

Tear blushed slightly. "Why don't we get breakfast while we wait for the others?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** First I want to say thank you for all the new followers for this story. Sorry for the delay, I had a lot of internet issues (crappy providers) but everything should be fine now and we should be back to weekly updates.

* * *

Luke knew he shouldn't be leaving the room without permission but he was so bored just sitting around and staring at the window. He wasn't going to wander far, just downstairs to see if Asch had come back. Guy and Jade were deep into some conversation he didn't understand and he could probably slip back in before they noticed.

He pulled the cloak firmly over his mop of red hair before he began his trip down the hall. He hated wearing it but Asch had insisted it would help keep his identity a secret, just in case they saw any guards from Baticul searching for him. As he got closer to the stairs, he noticed a blue, furry object floating around in the middle of the hall, causing him to stop in his tracks.

I've never seen anything like that before but...it's too small to be dangerous, right? Maybe I should go back and ask Guy or Jade though.

Still, his curiosity carried his legs closer to the thing. He hadn't seen anything like it before back home. He continued to move at a slow and careful pace.

The little blue thing's ears wiggled before he turned around to face Luke.

Luke's eyes widened at the creature. It had big eyes and looked really cute but he couldn't be sure that it wouldn't attack so he carefully backed away. He really wished he would have had his wooden play sword that guy had made him right now. "S-Stop! I'm not afraid of you, monster!"

The creature's wide eyes stared at him and hopped closer. "I'm not a monster, I'm Mieu!"

"Whoa you can talk! What's...a Mieu?"

Mieu shook his head looking up at Luke. "I'm a cheagle. My name is Mieu."

Luke made a slight face. "Your voice is really high and squeaky...but you're the coolest thing ever!" He picked up the small Cheagle poking and tugging on his ears. "I've never seen a Cheagle before. Do you have wings or do you use your ears to fly?"

He whimpered slightly, trying to wiggle free from the tight grip. "Please don't tug on Mieu's ears! I need them to fly." Once he's free he scurries his way up to Luke's shoulder.

"H-hey! Get down from there, you're kind of heavy."

"Mieu...but flying wastes my energy."

Luke sighed a bit. "Well, I guess you can stay up there." He started towards the stairs again. "So, are there other cheagles in Chesodonia?"

"No. Cheagles live in the cheagle woods where it's safe and the monsters won't eat us. I'm travelling with my master and his friends. He has green eyes and red hair just like you. Have you seen him?"

The abrupt stop in his walking was almost enough to catapult Mieu off his shoulder. "Wait, that's Asch! You belong to him? He never told me he had a cheagle. I'm Luke, his little brother!"

Mieu's ears perked up in surprise. "Luke...but master...Asch is..." He let out a little sigh. If only Tear was here to explain all of this complicated stuff to him.

"Does he have a bunch of talking cheagles where he lives?"

"Mieu is the only cheagle that can speak. It's a power given by the sorcerer's ring!" He answered proudly holding out the ring around his belly to show off.

* * *

Tear was still trying to process all that had taken place in the past twenty hours. She would never openly admit to anyone but she was starting to lose hope in Luke ever returning to her. She knew the chances from the start were very slim, but Luke always managed to do the impossible before. Still, even he wasn't invincible and the odds of him returning diminished every year that had passed.

And now he was back. She was relieved, overjoyed, but something nagged in the back of her mind. There was something different about him and his behavior had been slightly peculiar. She hadn't expected his hair to be long again and the look in his eyes was familiar and distant at the same time.

Under the circumstances, I have no right to judge. I have no idea what he might have endured over the past two years. Even if he has changed, that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

As much as she wanted to never let him out of her sight again, they had all agreed that crowing Luke would be the worst thing they could do. So they'd let him have his space and make his own decisions on what h wanted to do with his life.

Logically, he was still the son of the duke and once they found out their only child was alive, his parents would want him to reclaim that role. It didn't seem fitting for Luke in her opinion. Maybe he'd want to actually serve as an ambassador of Kimlasca and help the replicas. Then there was Natalia...

They were still legally engaged and Natalia refused to think any differently, even after Luke was presumed dead. No doubt his parents and the King would want that arrangement to remain. They might even insist on it now that they know there wasn't a biological heiress to the thrown but Natalia and Luke were of age now, they could refuse if they wanted to. But would they?

Tear shook the thought out of her head as she headed upstairs. Their first priority was making sure that Luke was okay. Everything else could be figured out at a later date. She had come upstairs to get Mieu from her room.

As she got to the top of the stairs, she saw Mieu frantically hopping up and down in front of little boy who had somehow gotten possession of the sorcerer's ring. She sighed heavily; she adored Mieu for his cuteness and loyalty to Luke and the group but she was surprised he hadn't managed to get himself kidnapped and sold for being the only talking Cheagle in the world.

"Excuse me, but could you please give that back to Mieu."

Luke looked up at her before looking back down at the ring. "I was only looking at it."

She hesitated a moment, seeing something familiar in his face before snapping out of it and took another step forward. "I understand but you won't be able to understand him if he isn't wearing it."

He raised an eyebrow at that staring down at Mieu. "Wait, you're a boy? But your voice is so squeaky." He turned his attention back to Tear. "Hey...how did you know he could talk? This is my brother's cheagle. Do you know him?"

Tear took another step forward. "I'm sorry but I don't know him and this cheagle belongs to a friend of mine. If you give Mieu his ring back maybe we can help you."

Luke took a careful step back still holding tightly to the ring and Mieu. "S-stay away!" He took a few more steps back until he felt his back bump against something.

Jade looked down at him and shook his head. "It appears running off is a bad habit of yours. Whenever I turn my back you're causing trouble for someone."

"I wasn't causing trouble!" He shot back defensively as the older man plucked the ring out of his fingers. "Hey Jade, look! Did you know Asch had a cheagle?"

The colonel decided not to address the confused expression Tear was sending his way. "Yes and I'd advise you to be nice to him. He does breathe fire after all."

"Colonel, what is going on? Who is this boy and by Asch he couldn't have possibly been talking about..."

By this time Guy had walked up upon the scene. "It's a long story, Tear. We should probably wait until all the gang is around to hear it." He said as he offered her a soft smile but Tear could tell it was strained.

"Yes, it appears we have no choice in the matter now thanks to someone. Tear; if you know where we can find the other ladies we can head for the Albiore."

Tear nodded, still confused. "Yes they're...they should still be downstairs."

The four of them headed downstairs where they found Natalia and Anise outside of the inn. As they approached, Jade could already see the incoming questions and held up his hand. "On the Albiore." He responded shortly and continued to walk, keeping a tight grip on Luke's hand so he didn't wander off. Thankfully he was still too pre-occupied with Mieu to ask questions or even notice the two women join them.

* * *

Asch was still on the Albiore waiting while Noelle attempted to contact Ginji. He hadn't thought much about it before but Ginji was probably the closest thing he had to a friend. He took Asch wherever he needed to go, never complained about his moods and even kept their location secret when he asked him to. He had felt a small sense of relief when he found out he hadn't died in the crash landing on Eldrant.

"Sorry this is taking so long, Luke. I don't know where he is but I'll keep on trying." Noelle smiled sheepishly. "Perhaps I can just take you all to Grand Chokmah and then fly around and try to find him. It seems like everyone else is here now too. Oh who's that little boy with them?"

"What?" He asked, slightly panicked as he looked out one of the windows. Obviously something had gone wrong with the plan. Dammit, why can't anything ever go the way it's planned.

"Our plans have changed; Noelle will be taking us all to Grand Chokmah." Jade announced as they made their way up the ramp. Luke managed to tug ahead of him and ran inside.

"I've never been on a plane before." He announced excitedly with wide eyes.

"Mieu! The Albiore can ride on water like a ship too."

As soon as everyone was boarded, Anise broke the silence with. "Okay, so we're all here now. Who is this kid, Colonel?"

"You heard the lady, introduce yourself."

Luke looked at the group before directing his gaze down to the floor. He felt a bit flustered being around so many people he didn't know. And some of the girls were giving him strange looks. "Um...m-my name is L-Luke and I'm ten years old..." He whispered.

Natalia gasped, covering her mouth. "He...he looks just like..."

Jade cleared his throat giving them a stern look. "We are well behind schedule and really should be getting to Grand Chokmah. Noelle, we can take off now."

Asch took the seat near Luke in an attempt to avoid the stares he was getting, though that decision came with its own consequences.

God damn he rambles on just as much as the replica use to. There's no way I was this annoying as a kid. Regardless of his lack of patience, he nods when he's suppose to and answers all questions. He can't really be all that upset. He had the same excitement whenever he had a chance to go to the capital. And before my life went to hell.

It only takes about an hour for Luke's excitement; coupled with slight motion sickness causes him to fall asleep and Asch immediately regrets it. The awkwardness is so much more obvious without him as a distraction and it won't be long until someone finally caves in and addresses what they were all thinking.

Natalia is the first one to crack and he wasn't surprised. Aside from Guy she would be the only one to notice. "He looks so much like Luke and Asch when they were younger. Do you think he's a replica Van made before we defeated him?"

Anise tugged gently on a loose thread hanging from Tokunaga. "It would make sense. Moh's did make Florian before Ion died. But he wouldn't be a kid, would he? Wouldn't he be an adult like Luke?"

"He mentioned something about Asch back at the inn." Tear added, looking over to Guy for his input but all he did was keep his arms crossed and close his eyes.

From the corner of his eye he can see Jade giving him a silent prompt to jump in and end the charade now. He gave Luke a nudge to make sure he was fully asleep.

Why was he nervous in the first place? He hadn't caused any of this. They would have to face reality at some point. "I'm not Luke."

To his ears it sounded like a shout, but in reality he knew it was barely above a whisper. At least he had said it in a stern voice.

"If you're not Luke then...who are you?" Natalia asked, staring at her hands in her lap.

Before he can respond, Jade cut in. "If you eliminate one possibility then whatever remains must be the answer. In this scenario, he's Asch."

"But... he made a promise, you made a promise. You came to meet us. What happened to Luke?!" Tear yelled angrily, glaring at Asch. She probably would have been in front of him had Guy not been holding her back. Even Noelle shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the rising tension.

"I believe the responsibility to explain lies solely on me." Jade answered coolly, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "A replica is created with the sole purpose of replacing the original, for whatever reason. They are not meant to co-exist together for an extended apart of time. It results in one of the pair becoming unstable until they reach the point that they can merge with the other. Think of it as one feeding off of the life of the other. Almost every time it was the replica due to the fact that they are only made up of seventh fonons. We call it the big bang or the contamination effect."

Anise frowned. "So...they merge into one body?"

"Not exactly. The other, normally the replica will disappear and cease to exist while the original merges with the fonons and memories. That...would explain why Asch remembers things Luke might have said."

"But Luke and Asch had both been alive for over seven years without any problems." Natalia argued. "I mean, Luke always had those headaches but he was hardly ever sick aside from that."

"I'll admit the fact that they managed to co-exist for so long is something that even I can't explain. At best I can only say it has something to do with them being perfect isofons and scion's of Lorelei. As far as we know Luke's fonon separation began after he cleared the miasma, but he might have been suffering from it for much longer, like Ion. Asch on the other hand..."

"I was dying from fonon separation long before that stunt at the tower of rem." Asch added.

Natalia looked at him biting her lip. "Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"I suspect Spinoza didn't fully explain the big bang to you, or you misunderstood. You assumed that if you disappeared before Luke, he would stabilize and merge with your memories. It's why you wanted him to live up to your expectations."

Tear wiped her eyes, slowly pushing herself away from guy and walking over to Jade. "So you knew the entire time. From the moment you met him; knew he was a replica. You knew he was going to die and you didn't try to help him? Is that why you were so quick to sacrifice him! Because you knew it wouldn't matter because eventually he was just going to disappear anyway!"

Natalia and Anise were quickly at her side, though Jade remained seemingly unaffected. I know this is all my fault and I'm sorry for what it's done to you. "There is no way to stop fonon separation. The very best you can do is manage the symptoms. I know this is difficult for everyone in this room but you all need to come to grips with the fact that the Luke we all knew is gone. The only thing that remains is all of the memories he left with us and Asch. This child may share his likeness and name but nothing more. The big bang to my knowledge and research cannot be reversed. His experiences, his memories from now on will be entirely different. And you will each have to decide whether you want to be a part of that or not."

With that Jade turned and moved to the front of the Albiore where Noelle was piloting, the girls were working on calming Tear down and Guy had remained where he had been entire time and still silent.

Well the rest of this ride is going to be awkward as hell. I almost wish I was the one that would have been brought back as a ten year old.


End file.
